5 young bowlers who impressed in Deodhar Trophy 2023 ft. Vidwath Kaverappa and Mayank Yadav

India's most prestigious domestic 50-over competition, Deodhar Trophy, returned to its full glory this year after a three-year absence since 2020. With 16 high-octane matches, including a thrilling finale, the tournament lived up to its hype. It provided Indian cricket lovers with a rousing appetizer for the ODI World Cup later this year.

Six Zonal teams battled one another, culminating with table-toppers South Zone defeating second-place East Zone in a high-scoring final to clinch their eighth Deodhar Trophy title.

Riyan Parag was the standout performer, finishing as the leading run-scorer and the sixth-highest wicket-taker to single-handedly lead East Zone to the summit clash. Despite the batters hogging the limelight, several bowlers also stamped their authority throughout the tournament.

With that in mind, let us look at five young bowlers who impressed in the Deodhar Trophy 2023.

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#5 Utkarsh Singh

Utkarsh Singh impressed with the ball despite opening the batting for East Zone.

East Zone all-rounder Utkarsh Singh makes a surprise entry as one of the five bowlers in this list despite also opening the batting for his side. The 25-year-old played a crucial role in East Zone's qualification to the final with his miserly off-spin and timely wickets.

Utkarsh provided excellent support to lead spinner Shahbaz Ahmed, picking up eight wickets in five matches at an average of 21.75 and an economy rate of under 4.50 runs per over. The youngster also brought East Zone back into the game in the grand finale by breaking 181 run opening partnership between Mayank Agarwal and Rohan Kunnummal.

He removed both batters and finished with outstanding figures of 2/50 in his 10 overs despite the side conceding a score of 328 in their 50 overs. Since making his first-class debut at the end of 2017, Utkarsh has been particularly impressive in white-ball cricket.

The Jharkhand all-rounder has 32 scalps in 37 List-A games at an average of 27.53, including two four-wicket hauls. Utkarsh also boasts outstanding T20 numbers, with an average of 18.19 in 25 games at an economy rate of under 6.50 runs per over.

His white-ball performances earned him an IPL call-up, with the Punjab Kings buying him ahead of the 2021 season.

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#4 Sai Kishore

Sai Kishore continued his dominant run in domestic cricket.

Tamil Nadu's Sai Kishore had another impressive outing for South Zone, leading their spin attack in the competition. The 26-year-old finished fifth in the highest wicket-takers chart, with 11 scalps in five games at an incredible average of 15.27 and an economy rate of 3.78 runs per over.

The left-arm-spinner used all his guile and pace variations to stifle opposition batters, allowing South Zone's quality pace attack to go all out for wickets in their opening burst.

Sai Kishore is coming off an excellent campaign in the recent Duleep Trophy, finishing with eight wickets at an average of 18 in South Zone's title run. Featuring in the Gujarat Titans squad since 2022, the young spinner is knocking on the doors of national selection with consistent performances across formats.

The 26-year-old boasts sensational overall numbers, with 243 combined wickets in domestic cricket at an average of 23.13 and 16.91 in the List-A and T20 formats.

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#3 Mayank Yadav

Mayank Yadav's impressive showing should see him play for LSG soon.

The youngest bowler to have impressed in the Deodhar Trophy was North Zone's right-arm pacer, Mayank Yadav. Despite being relatively inexperienced at the domestic level, the 21-year-old led the North Zone attack.

Finishing as the joint second leading wicket-taker, Mayank picked up 12 scalps at an average of 17.57, including best figures of 4/63 against East Zone. Further indicating his value to the side is that the 21-year-old picked up twice as many wickets as the next-best in the North Zone side.

Despite just debuting in first-class cricket in December 2021, the pacer has already picked up 28 wickets in List-A cricket for Delhi at an average of 20. It should be just a matter of time before Mayank Yadav debuts for Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL.

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#2 Shams Mulani

Mulani outwitted opposing batters with his smarts to finish second in wickets.

Arguably the most consistent bowler in the Indian domestic circuit for the past couple of years, Shams Mulani took another giant step toward prominence with his sparkling performance in the Deodhar Trophy.

The 26-year-old picked up his 12 wickets at an incredible average of 16.25 and an economy rate of just 3.90 runs per over. Mulani was tied with Mayank Yadav for second place in the wicket-taking charts.

Mulani, like Mayank, led a weak West Zone bowling attack, with no other bowler picking up even half as many wickets. His exploits helped the side finish third on the points table.

Playing for Mumbai, the up-and-coming spinner finished second in wickets during the Ranji Trophy earlier this year after leading the pack a year ago. With close to 250 first-class wickets across formats, Mulani is among the leading bowlers in Indian domestic cricket.

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#1 Vidwath Kaverappa

South Zone pacer Vidwath Kaverappa was the bowler of the tournament.

Undoubtedly the bowler of the tournament, Vidwath Kaverappa continued his dream run through the Indian domestic season, finishing as the leading wicket-taker. He picked up 13 wickets at a stunning average of less than 15, including one of only two 5-wicket hauls in the competition.

Following his heroics in the recent Duleep Trophy, the 24-year-old again led South Zone's pace attack masterfully in their unbeaten title run in the 50-over competition.

Kaverappa was also the second-leading wicket-taker in the Duleep Trophy with 15 scalps at a resounding average of 11.93, including a magical haul of eight wickets in the final that led South Zone to a thrilling 75-run win.

The 24-year-old broker through at the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy a year ago, picking up 18 wickets in eight games at an other-worldly average of 10.72 and a stellar economy rate of 6.36 runs per over.

Following the sensational SMAT season, Kaverappa had no let-up as he took giant strides in the Vijay Hazare Trophy with 17 wickets at a miserly economy of 3.53 runs per over.

With all the hype surrounding the young pacer after a scintillating debut season in 2022, Kaverappa continued his impressive showing in the 2022/23 Ranji Trophy. He picked up 30 wickets in eight matches at an average of 20.43 with two five-wicket hauls.

Considering his current form and remarkable consistency, it will be a travesty of epic proportions if Kaverappa does not feature in the starting 11 for the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in IPL 2024.